


A Reunion Long Coming

by Greyed_Viking



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Assumed Character Death, Four is looking for Shadow, Linked Universe, but i promise its okay, he misses him, lu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21867853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greyed_Viking/pseuds/Greyed_Viking
Summary: “Do you think there’s anything we can do War’?” Wind asked quietly, watching the smallest Link glance into the shadows as if searching for something. Or someone, perhaps? Warriors sighed and shrugged his shoulders.“You can’t rush mourning, Wind,” Wind looked up at him, solemn, and nodded.
Relationships: Blue Link & Green Link & Red Link & Shadow Link & Vio Link, Four & Shadow
Comments: 8
Kudos: 329





	A Reunion Long Coming

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS FOR POP. I LOVE YOU!!! SORRY THIS KINDA SUCKS.

“Purple hair? No, I can’t say I have seen someone like that,” The lady spoke quickly. “Sorry boys, but I have to go. Good luck finding your friend!” She walked briskly away, waving goodbye to them. Red waved back and Green sighed.

“That’s the fifth town we’ve check. We have to face the facts that maybe… maybe he…” Vio tried to finish his statement but burst into tears instead. Red hugged him tightly and Blue studiously stared at the ground, his face blank. Green wrapped an arm around Blue, leaning into his chest.

“We’ll find him, someday. I promise, Vio. I promise,” Red cooed softly. Vio sobbed harder. Soon, all four of them were crying. Someday, but today was not the day, no matter how badly they wanted it to be. They missed Shadow, with all their hearts. Slowly, the boys walked out of town, towards their makeshift campsite. The air was quiet, with sniffles occasionally filling the emptiness. They didn’t bother talking. They already knew what each other would say.

Grabbing their swords, they fused together into a single man. Upon reaching the makeshift campsite, Link pulled out his belongings from their hidden spot, and laid his bedroll down next to the dead fire. It was a warm summer, even the nights were warm, so Link assumed he would survive one night without a fire. It wasn’t like he was going to use it to cook; he hadn’t been hungry for days. He had barely manage to eat an apple in the past three days. He just wasn’t hungry.

Lack of hunger aside, the boy curled up in his bedroll and willed himself to sleep. He would be awake for hours, sobbing, eyes flashing all sorts of colors in his emotional turmoil, but it didn’t stop him from attempting to sleep his pain away. It was the only thing he could do anymore.

-

The next morning, Link awoke to a sword aimed between his eyes.

“Who are you, and why are you in our camp?” A man’s voice spoke. Not looking away from the sword’s end, Link raised his hands in surrender, gently and slowly pulling himself into a sitting position.

“My name is Link, and up until now this was  _ my  _ campsite. Who are you?” He asked, glancing up to the sword’s wielder. Freezing, he stared into a face much too similar to his own. The man frowned.

“Link? Time, you don’t think,” The man turned away, speaking to someone else, but leaving his sword pointed at Link’s face. Using this to advantage, Link swung his own sword, knocking the sword out of the man’s hand and jumping to his feet. The man cried out in shock, turning back to face the smaller man. Assuming a fighting stance, the man looked Link up and down.

“I don’t want to fight you,” His voice was low. Link snarled. The man took a step back, sword still raised. “Time, what do I do?” A man’s voice rang out from the otherside of the camp, amused.

“Well perhaps if you didn’t wake him with a sword in the face, maybe he wouldn’t be trying to fight you!” 

“Not now, Hyrule!” The man whined, not taking his eyes off Link. They stood there, in a stalemate. “Lower your weapon, and I’ll lower mine?” He suggested. Link scoffed.

“Lower my weapon so you can run me through? No thanks,” Link spat. Another voice rang out, just as amused as the first.

“Why don’t you lower your weapon, Legend?” The man sighed, but did what was suggested. Link slowly lowered his own weapon. Another man popped up behind the swordsman, Legend. His face was just as uncomfortably familiar as Legend’s.

“Hi! I’m Link, but they call me Wind, since we’re all named Link. What do you want us to call you?” Link blinked. His face crumpled into confusion. His name is Link? They… were all named Link?

“What?” Link sputtered. The boy, Wind, giggled.

“We can’t call you what!” Link found himself staring at the boy, incredibly confused. What… what was going on?

“Let me explain,” A voice spoke. A large man in silver armor appeared from behind Legend. “I’m Link, but they call me Time. We are all heroes of ages past, sent by Hylia to do… something. We still aren’t sure what,” His booming voice echoed in the small clearing. Time? Legend? No way.

“You’re the Hero of Time? And you’re the Hero of Legend?” His voice was quiet and full of awe. He had heard the stories. Red had been obsessed with them, and Vio would often read them to him when they were having a calm moment. There was… no way they could be them, but Hylia had done stranger things. Time continued to explain what they knew about the situation.

Link pursed his lips, considering what he was being told. It sounds like Hylia, but it also sounded too wild to be true. At the very least, five other heroes in his time, looking for the Hero of this age?

“Are you a hero?” Sky asked. Sky looked less like the others, but he looked suspiciously like Zelda. Link found himself nodding, not saying a word.

“Well, what’s your title? What are you the Hero of?” Hyrule asked, smiling at him. Link smiled back. That was easy.

“I’m the Hero of Four,”

-

Four had been with Links for three weeks now, and they had grown from a group of six to a group of nine. They were nice enough, strong heroes in their own right. However, Four never felt right around them. Maybe because he refused to separate around them because he was scared? Maybe because he was still searching for Shadow in every town they passed although he knew it was nearly hopeless? He wasn’t sure.

“What’s eating at you?” Warriors asked him that night. Four shrugged, swirling his spoon in his broth. Warriors raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Four sighed and bit his lip. He didn’t know where to start, but surely it would be okay just to mention that he missed a friend?

“Just… missing a close friend of mine. I was looking for him when I ran into the others.” Four said, almost mournfully. Warriors nodded, lost in thought for a few moments.

“Maybe we’ll be able to find him next time we land in your Hyrule,” Warriors suggested. Four shook his head with a sad smile, his eyes tinting green for a few moments.

“I’m not even sure if he’s even… even still alive.”

“Then I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Four whispered, staring at the ground.

-

It was misty and dark, and Four couldn’t help but be reminded of Shadow. He hadn’t thought about him in a while, choosing to ignore the pain of losing a friend in favor of focusing on helping his new ones. It still stung like a hornet, and there was nothing anyone could do to help. The others could see how distraught Four was like it was written on his face in black ink.

“Do you think there’s anything we can do War’?” Wind asked quietly, watching the smallest Link glance into the shadows as if searching for something. Or someone, perhaps? Warriors sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“You can’t rush mourning, Wind,” Wind looked up at him, solemn, and nodded. As they watched, they saw Four’s eyes flash a red color. Both boys rubbed their eyes, but upon looking again at their friend’s eyes, they were their normal, flecked hazel color. The two boys looked at each other and shrugged, assuming it was nothing, or at least nothing important. Four would have told them if it was important. Right?

-

It had been 2 months before they finally arrived back in Four’s Hyrule. Four had whooped happily and ran down an embankment, splashing in the river water before turning around and explaining that they were close to where he had been when they originally found him. 

“We’re right outside to Hyrule Town, come on! I have a house there where we can rest!” The others shouted praises, re-gathering their equipment and taking off after the young smith. The walk to Hyrule Town only took a few minutes, and soon they were standing outside of a larger house, with a sign above it stating, “Four Sword Smithing”.

“Very original with the name,” Legend remarked with a snort. Four glared for a moment, then shrugged.

“Most people in the kingdom know I’m the Hero, and most know I'd rather spend my days in the forge. I’m sure you can respect that, Legend,” Four said. He turned away from his friend and walked to the front door. “Welcome to my home!”

Opening the door, Four led them all inside. The place was large, almost as big as the farmhouse was. The boys were in awe of the obvious split between shop and home. Legend snorted and muttered something about a rabbit, but no one paid him any mind. Gesturing down the hall, he spoke quickly and matter-of-factly.

“Down that hall are the four smaller bedrooms and the larger master suite. Everyone one of them has a full size bed, so everyone can share a bed if they would like. Through that door is the forge, don’t go in there Warriors, you’ll get soot on your scarf. Through that opening is the kitchen and dining room and this is the shop floor. So yeah, welcome to our little home!” Four finished, spreading his arms out wide.

“Our?” Sky questioned. Four froze, eyes flashing all sorts of colors before settling on a shade that was distinctly purple tinted.

“A simple mistake. I expected to share this space one day, and I’m sharing it with you now, so therefore this is “our home” until we have to leave. Hyrule Town is full of places to restock and to places to have fun, so please excuse me for a moment, feel free to explore the town, okay, goodbye!” Four stammered, running down the hall as he talked over his shoulder to Sky and the others. He slammed the door to the master suite closed and closed his blue speckled eyes before removing his sword. He sighed and used the sword to split. 

With a small flash of light, there stood four men where there was once one. They all looked stressed, colored eyes wide with fear.

“Oh Goddess that was bad, that was very, very bad,” Red spoke quietly, knowing now was not the time for his loud outbursts. The other three nodded.

“Thanks for the word vomit, Vio, I’m sure Sky bought it,” Blue jeered. Vio flinched before glaring at him. Green stepped between them, hand separating them before a fight couple start.

“Guys, please don’t fight. We don’t have the time, let’s just enjoy this time unfused.” Green said, tiredness dripping from each word. Blue and Vio nodded, releasing the building tension between them. The four of them huddled together, drinking in their individuality and support from each other. Two months since they had seen each other like this. Two months since they had been alone with their own thoughts. Two months too long.

Red sighed and flopped on the bed, lightly kicking Blue as he fell. “Hey, watch it!” Blue grumbled, shoving the red-clad boy softly. Red giggled, a broad smile plastered against his face. Blue looked at him, unimpressed. Green giggled at the two of them and carefully laid his head on Vio’s shoulder. Vio reached a hand up and petted Green’s hair, a small smile reaching his face. They had missed this; being their own person meant the world to them. The casual affection that often followed their split was sweet, but almost bitterly so since Shadow was gone.

Shadow. The purple-haired lad had sacrificed himself to save Hyrule, and they had promised to never stop looking for him. But it had been months, with no sign, not even a hint of their shadowy friend. Even separated, all of their minds turned to Shadow and how much they missed him.

“I miss him,” Vio muttered. The others nodded in agreement. But now was not the time to cry over lost friends. Now was the time to play host. They all grabbed their swords, going to connect them to fuse back together when Green hesitated. Three pairs of colored eyes flicked towards him, varying degrees of confusion in their depths.

“I… I think we should tell them. About us. And Shadow.”

“What are you, nuts? They’ll hate us!” Blue shouted. Footsteps came from down the hall, a muffled, “Four?” accompanying it. The boys panicked. Sliding the swords together, they fused, just in time to turn around and face Time as Four.

“Time! What are you doing?” Four asked, eyes flashing various shades before settling on a light blue tint. Time narrowed his eye, staring at Four.

They stood there for a while. As they stood there, Time observed Four’s eyes change from blue to purple, then to green. Four blinked and looked away from Time, uncomfortable, not knowing his eyes were giving hints to his greatest secret.

“So why would we hate you?” Time finally spoke, and Four jumped. He swore loudly. He had hoped that Time hadn’t heard him. Time raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Four hesitated, trying to think of a way to lie, but he was so tired. His entire hero’s journey was spent split, and for the past two months he had hidden himself from the group. He was tired of not being him. When he was together, it wasn’t exactly the him he wanted to be.

“Promise you won’t get freaked out?” Four asked hesitantly.

“I fought the literal moon. Nothing you can tell me will ever freak me out more than having to fight the moon as a 9 year old,” Time said, staring blankly. Four chuckled and nervously removed his sword from where he placed it on his back. With a mumbled, ‘okay, let’s do this’, Four split into his four halves. None of them met Time’s surprised look.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Time hadn’t said anything. The boys looked at each other, restless, before Vio glanced up at Time. He was met with a smile, and kindness flowing through the man’s one eye. Vio looked down, embarrassed. Time knelt down, becoming slightly shorter than the four boys.

“Are you okay?” Green looked up in surprise.

“Of course we’re okay! We’re just… we’re just different like this,” Time hummed softly, placing a hand on Green’s shoulder. Green melted into the soft touch, tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

“This wasn’t the only thing you thought we’d hate you for, is it?” Time’s voice was low and firm. Red shook his head and leaned into Blue’s embrace, away from Time. “Do you want to tell me?” Time’s voice was softer now. Green shook his head yes, the others quietly agreeing.

“We… had a friend… we… we don’t know what happened to him after our journey and had been searching for him when we met you all, and now it’s been two months and, and, and we,” Green started before melting into a sobbing mess. Blue swallowed heavily.

“His name is Shadow. He’s part of us, whether he likes it or not and he… he sacrificed himself to save Hyrule and we just want him back,” Blue’s voice was rough, tears being held back. Red hugged him and Blue fell to tears.

“We just want Shadow back but we can’t find him while we’re with you,” Vio finally said, tears streaming down his face. Time nodded and gathered the boys in his arms, hugging them. He muttered reassurances and promises to the boys.

“I understand, it’s okay. We’ll help you find him,” Time assured them. “But we have to tell the others. Do you think you all are strong enough to do that?” Blue scoffed, tears flowing freely down his face. Even upset as he was, he never wanted to be seen as anything but strong. Green gently shoved him, with a murmured ‘Stop that’.

The boys all wiped their tears and reformed into a single man, following Time down the hall to the kitchen where most of the Links were. Time to explain his whole life’s story, it seemed.

-

It was months later before they caught wind of news of a purple haired boy. Four was ecstatic. Or, more accurately,  _ the boys _ were ecstatic. Splitting apart as soon as he heard the news, Four melted into Red dancing around screaming, ‘it’s him, it’s him!’ and Vio silently crying, cradled by Green. Blue stayed stoic, simply said he ‘knew that he would show up sooner or later’. The Links were happy for them, but apprehensive of what this meant. After all, Four had told them everything Shadow had done. But he wanted Shadow back and if that meant the spent a few days “off course”, then Din damn it they would be. For Four’s sake.

They were headed towards the town that Shadow was spotted in, trying to stay in the treeline, out of the sun, when Twilight stopped at the head of their crowd.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Wind asked. Twilight flipped around, growling.

“There’s something following us,” He barked out, pulling his sword out. The others followed suit, each turning so there was no blind spot. It was a tense, quiet moment as they stood, listening for evidence of this tracker. Then they heard it. Footsteps. Heavy ones.

Out of the brush roamed an Iron Knuckle, twice as large as any other the others had ever seen. It was monstrous, and it reeked of corruption and infection. It seemed to laugh at them before charging in the midst of them.

“Hit the armor’s weak point!” Time yelled over the fray. They all nodded and attacked, avoiding each other tactfully. It was a free-for-all, everyone attacking the weakest points in the armor, and dodging the sweeping blade. It went on for what seemed like hours, little progress being made when its helmet finally popped off thanks to a heavy swing from Time. The Iron Knuckle roared, an unholy sound ripped from its vocal chords.

“Duck!” A voice screamed from above them. Everyone turned, ducking to the ground. A sword plunged through the mouth of the ugly beast, held by a purple haired boy.

“That’s what you get when you attack my friends!” The boy yelled. The Iron Knuckle swayed before falling, corrupted blood oozing from its mouth. In front of them stood the victor, none other but Shadow himself.

“Shadow!” Four voices yelled in unison. Dropping their swords they threw themselves at the purple-haired man. He never stood a chance. As the others approached the group, they watched Shadow touch each boy’s face as if it were something holy.

“Red? Blue? Green, Vio, you’re… you’re real?”

“Of course we’re real, silly!” Vio said, tears rocketing down his cheeks. “Are you… are  _ you _ real?”

Shadow scoffed. “I sure hope I am, or else I risked my non-life to save you!”

“We thought you were dead, you  _ asshole _ !” Blue yelled, hugging Shadow tightly. Shadow rolled his eyes.

“Ah yes, me, a shadow being, dying. Sounds believable,”

“Then where were you?” Green asked. Shadow hesitated before shrugging.

“I don’t know, honestly. I… I woke up in the forest and I've been stealing food from this town for at least a week, if not more…” Shadow trailed off. Standing back, the boys reformed, becoming one man again. Four threw himself in Shadow’s arms, knocking him down, hugging him tightly.

“I am  _ never  _ letting you out of my sight,  _ again _ ,” Four muttered. Shadow chuckled and patted his hair.

“I promise you’ll never have to.”


End file.
